Lunch at Il Teatro del Sale

Happy birthday, David.

The Teatro del Sale is another interesting Florentine place to sit down for lunch or for dinner. The Teatro del Sale is one the four Cibreo spots a few blocks from our apartment and is operated by the well-known restauranteur, Fabio Picchi. The Cibreo restaurant is famous and expensive, over 100 Euro per diner. The Cibreo trattoria adjoins the restaurant and serves the same food from the same kitchen at a fraction of the price. The trattoria, however, does not take reservations, has communal seating, offers no table cloths, and is quite austere. The Cibreo café is across the street and serves coffee, teas, pastries, and light snacks.

Maria Cassi, the Italian comic actress, is married to Fabio Picchi. Together they purchased an old theater across the street from the three Cibreo places and established a club of sorts that serves lunch and dinner and offers evening shows. Maria Cassi performs frequently. The auditorium of the old theater has a flat floor, a stage, balconies, and is set with small tables and chairs. A kitchen is off to one side with a glass wall so diners can watch food being prepared.

Here are a few of the ways in which the Teatro del Sale is unusual. 

You must join the Circo-lo, a social circle, to enter. A one year membership is 5 Euro. Lunch is a flat 20 Euro, dinner is a flat 30 Euro and includes a show of some kind.

Cool and room temperature dishes are served at a table at the back of the small auditorium on small plates. Sample what you like, pass by the things that don’t interest you. Throughout the meal the dishes are replenished and new dishes appear. These dishes include salads, polentas of various types, small pieces of veal served in a tomato sauce, an interesting combination of cubed beets and potatoes served with thin sliced red onion and dressed with oil and wine vinegar. (Does it sound strange? It was really good. If we can figure out how to prepare it, we may inflict it on you after we get back.)

During the meal a cook in the kitchen will open a glass Dutch door from time to time and announce in a booming voice that a hot dish is being served at that moment. At the beginning of the meal the cook will offer hot schiacciata, thin crusty Florentine bread, brushed with oil, salted, with a  touch of rosemary. Later a pasta course will be offered. Finally a meat course will be announced, chicken, sausages, marinated pork which has been turning on a spit in the kitchen. With each announcement a line forms at the kitchen and diners take little plates back to their tables. 

The atmosphere is very festive. The little plates pile up and are taken away. This is the most fun of the meal.

The meal winds down and staff members offer coffee and dessert. When we were there last the dessert was, among other choices, small pieces of a soft, chewy intensely-chocolate cake. 

Diners may serve themselves with red or white wine and still or sparkling water. Coffee and dessert are included. There is no need to tip.